Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Perilous Game

Today, tragic news broke about the death of retired All-Pro Linebacker Junior Seau. He likely committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest. That particular method of suicide has become a bit of trend for former NFL players as it seems to be a way to preserve the brain for research. Most notably, former Bears Safety, Dave Duerson, shot himself in the chest telling his family beforehand to donate his brain for research.

It has become quite evident that the brain injuries suffered by professional football players are creating major mental health issues for former players and very early onset for neurological problems. There's also the problems that come along with the game even without head injuries. The physical toll of football is immense. Chronic, crippling pain, and disability are the reality for a lot of retired NFL players and that must take a terrible toll on one's mind.

Along with brain damage, often there is another stress that goes along with the end of a career in professional sports. Retirement age for a NFL player is probably going to happen when a man is in his 30's. To make it in the NFL, you have to be an elite talent, an elite athlete. It is what that person does for the majority of their life up to the point where they can no longer do it. They work to become a professional football player for years and then have to work to stay at that top level for years.

An NFL player, who is good enough to make the field (and therefore suffer injuries) is  put on a pedestal throughout his career. They are revered by fans. They are on T.V. and their play or contract or haircut is the subject of debates on sports talk radio. In the fall, tens of thousands of people come to cheer him on or root against him every Sunday

Then a player retires. He instantly stops being that guy. People now talk about him in the past tense and he is no older than 40. A player works since his teenage years, if not before, to become a professional and before the age of 40 he has reached his pinnacle with so much life left. One is forced to live with the feeling that he has already served his primary purpose in life. Even if he doesn't have to worry about finances, that is still a terrible strain on the mind; to feel like you've done your job and are just waiting to die.

We continue to learn about how unsafe the game of football actually is. It is such a fantastic that it is hard to advocate that it should be banned. However, the risks are too great for one to advocate it continuing in its current form.

The NFL and NFLPA need to work together to ensure a future of football. Former players need easy, affordable and anonymous access to mental and physical healthcare as well as a guarantee of their financial security given the tremendous sacrifice an NFL player must make. The NFL can change the rules all they like, but that isn't going to stop the danger in the game. Safety gear needs to innovated to protect the after-football life of current and future players.

A story like the death of Seau, makes me wonder whether or not football is worth it. Not every former player lives in misery after their career, but it seems as though a disproportional amount suffer from pain, mental illness, and neurological problems, which is fatal combonation in too many cases. There just has to be a better way to do this though. There is no way to justify continuing this spectator sport, if it is causing such problems for its participants. There needs to be a change in the mentality of football and an improvement in the technology of football, because we can't continue to have a game that is killing its players.

Thanks for reading

-Michael

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